Study: People without kids have happier relationships

When you don’t have kids you get to spend more quality time with your partner. But is that the answer to happiness? (Getty)

A major study in Britain has found that childless couples are happier than those with kids.

Researchers interviewed 5,000 people of all ages and backgrounds and found that those without children felt more fulfilled in their relationships than those who had to care for a brood, according to the British Telegraph. What’s more, people felt more valued by their partners and happier overall in their relationship.

Why do kidless adults make happier couples? The study that’s being presented at the British Library this week found that these people did more to maintain their relationship, and they were more bound to spend time doing activities outside of the house together. When you don’t have children, it’s much easier to go out to the movies and have dinner together. You spend a lot more time talking and laughing (and in bed) together.

But when researchers took a close look at people’s overall happiness their findings were quite different. Adults with kids were more satisfied with their lives overall than those without them—although the level of happiness was vastly different between men and women.